Scientists Keep Rabbits Alive With Oxygen Microparticle Injections

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @02:03PM from the I've-been-using-my-lungs-like-a-sucker dept.

ananyo writes "Rabbits with blocked windpipes have been kept alive for up to 15 minutes without a single breath, after researchers injected oxygen-filled microparticles into the animals' blood. Oxygenating the blood by bypassing the lungs in this way could save the lives of people with impaired breathing or obstructed airways (abstract). In the past, doctors have tried to treat low levels of oxygen in the blood, or hypoxaemia, and related conditions such as cyanosis, by injecting free oxygen gas directly into the bloodstream. But oxygen injected in this way can accumulate into larger bubbles and form potentially lethal blockages."

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Am I the only one NOT OK with this? by l0ungeb0y · 2012-06-27 16:29 · Score: 0, Troll

Suffocating rabbits to death for experimentation is cruel and inhumane no matter how you try to spin it. I can only imagine the sick creep of a lab tech who sits idly by after injecting these bunnies and watches them die one after the other day after day.
Was torturing neighborhood pets to death a hiring qualification?